Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

[Maur]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

Doesn't matter how strong the character is. Without something to push against, he won't be able to move the object one iota from its course. If he gets tossed at it by another super (or does some really impressive Hulk leaping) then only his mass and velocity matter at the moment of impact. So, at this point it would be better to have a Super that has a form of flight whose SFX works in the vacuum of space (e.g. superman's flight). Then you just have to impart your flight onto the meteor to alter its course. No need to shatter it (unless it gets really close before being noticed).

[Sean Waters]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

30 levels of growth and a baseball bat?

[Basil]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

30 levels of growth and a baseball bat?

 

Heck, with THAT much growth, just fly along side it, and your gravity will pull it off its course. I think... Let me see...

 

2^30 times as tall, 8^30 times the volume and mass, start with 100 kg...

 

~1.238 * 10^29 kg, which is a mere 1.649 * 10^16 times as massive as the asteroid.

 

WHOA!

 

In fact, you'd have about 20,730 times the mass of the Earth!

 

Overkill? What's that?

[Sean Waters]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

 

Heck, with THAT much growth, just fly along side it, and your gravity will pull it off its course. I think... Let me see...

 

2^30 times as tall, 8^30 times the volume and mass, start with 100 kg...

 

~1.238 * 10^29 kg, which is a mere 1.649 * 10^16 times as massive as the asteroid.

 

WHOA!

 

In fact, you'd have about 20,730 times the mass of the Earth!

 

Overkill? What's that?

 

So the asteroid might not be the real problem...it would be Overkill trying to stop it Still, we can write that one up as another way to destroy the planet, should we need it...

[Basil]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

So the asteroid might not be the real problem...it would be Overkill trying to stop it Still' date=' we can write that one up as another way to destroy the planet, should we need it...[/quote']

 

See, you've got to be careful which superhero you ask to deal with which problem.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

That guy would be pretty good to have around the next time Galactus shows up.

[Basil]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

That guy would be pretty good to have around the next time Galactus shows up.

 

Say, how big is ol' Gallie supposed to be?

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

Say' date=' how big is ol' Gallie supposed to be?[/quote']

 

Big enough to eat a planet, but not so big that a planet isn't a filling meal.

 

I'd say he's not so big that a guy jumping out from behind Jupiter, growing to his full 30 level Growth size, and hauling off with a baseball bat won't clean his clock.

[Basil]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

Big enough to eat a planet, but not so big that a planet isn't a filling meal.

 

I'd say he's not so big that a guy jumping out from behind Jupiter, growing to his full 30 level Growth size, and hauling off with a baseball bat won't clean his clock.

 

Well, if 30 levels of Growth is 20,730 times the mass of Earth, that's the same ratio as a fairly hefty guy facing a "snack" of 5 grams. (~1/6 of an ounce). I suspect Overkill outmasses ol' Gallie by a LOT.

[OddHat]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

Well' date=' if 30 levels of Growth is 20,730 times the mass of Earth, that's the same ratio as a fairly hefty guy facing a "snack" of 5 grams. (~1/6 of an ounce). I suspect Overkill outmasses ol' Gallie by a LOT.[/quote']

 

Yes, but he only has 160 or so STR. Better hope the GM's take on Galactus can be harmed by a 32d6 attack.

 

Once made a "Galaxy Man" character. Never got a chance to use him.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

Yes, but he only has 160 or so STR. Better hope the GM's take on Galactus can be harmed by a 32d6 attack.

 

That guy's baseball bat has to count for something. It's HUGE!

[OddHat]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

That guy's baseball bat has to count for something. It's HUGE!

 

Did he buy it as extra dice of HtH attack, or just as Stretching?

[Sean Waters]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

If he hammers a nail through it might count as a killing attack: that could rack up to 21d6+1 HKA with strength. Now all we need is a REALLY big hammer and nail....

[Great Beyond]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

Ok, giant killer asteroids aside, how would one (assuming average heroes and not BigMan the Galacticus Whacker) deal with a Hurricane? My group is situated in Florida and while it's not hurricane/tropical storm season YET, you know it's coming soon.

 

That seems to be a case of "get everyone out of the way" instead of a "lets go punch the eye of the hurricane" sort of deal.

[Vulcan]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

Some of the tactics against the tidal wave might work against the tidal surge, if the GM likes. (Sure, it's not realistic, but we're talking comic books after all.)

 

The best option for stopping a hurricane with superpowers (aside from someone with Weather Control, that is ) is for someone with Change Environment (make the area cold) or heavy-duty cold attacks to get into the eye as early as possible and throw his powers around as much as he can. In real life (assuming someone could actually do it), it probably wouldn't make much difference. In a comic-book world? One never knows. It sure sounds plausible, though.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

Ok, giant killer asteroids aside, how would one (assuming average heroes and not BigMan the Galacticus Whacker) deal with a Hurricane? My group is situated in Florida and while it's not hurricane/tropical storm season YET, you know it's coming soon.

 

That seems to be a case of "get everyone out of the way" instead of a "lets go punch the eye of the hurricane" sort of deal.

 

Big Man The Galactus Whacker? I suppose that is one way to persuade Galactus to pick another target.

 

What?

 

OK: sorting ahurricane. Assuming it is a 'natural' hurricane, we can assume that it is built: there fore it can be drained.

 

So how do you build a hurricane?

 

Telekinesis (30 STR), MegaScale (1" = 1 km; +1/4), Explosion (+1/2), Uncontrolled (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (124 Active Points); Independent (-2), No Range (-1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a fourth of its effectiveness (Drained or affected by appropriaye powers; -1/4)

124 active / 33 real

 

So any power that can legitimately claim to affect a hurrricane can reduce it's effect or even remove it entirely.

[Drhoz]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

Since a natural hurricane/cyclone/typhoon is powered by the warm water beneath it, anybody who can churn up large ( i.e. 20 metres deep, over an area a hundred kilometres across) volumes of water could switch it off.

 

Heck, anybody with flight powers and a crate of silver iodide could do a circuit around the eye could force a second wall to form further out, reducing the intensity of the winds around the eye.

 

Associated storm surges would still require a giant force wall, tho.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

I think Mr. Overkill would himself look like a pretty tasty snack to Galactus. Galactus isn't big enough to actually eat a planet whole; he feeds off of the planet's energy (and from what I remember it has something to do with the some cosmicy "life energy" type deal rather than literal physical energy; which also makes sense because he doesn't seem to think much of stars).

 

Anyway, from my experience it is enough to give the heroes SOMETHING to do that makes them feel like they are a critical piece of the puzzle in stopping the disaster. It might be there is some big invention that will stop the earthquake (made by the same fellow who predicted it, of course), and the heroes have to obtain it or protect it from the villains long enough for it to be used a the critical moment.

 

For the tsunami, the brick might spend time piling up a huge wall of rocks and sand, with the energy projector using blasts to fuse it all together into a giant protective barrier while the martial artist and others try to keep the peace in a town filled suddenly with doomsayers and anarchists. That kind of thing.

[Basil]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

Since a natural hurricane/cyclone/typhoon is powered by the warm water beneath it' date=' anybody who can churn up large ( i.e. 20 metres deep, over an area a hundred kilometres across) volumes of water could switch it off.[/quote']

Good point!

 

Heck' date=' anybody with flight powers and a crate of silver iodide could do a circuit around the eye could force a second wall to form further out, reducing the intensity of the winds around the eye.[/quote']

Hmm....

 

Wouldn't that release a lot of heat in the upper part of the hurricane? Which might make it more powerful?

 

Associated storm surges would still require a giant force wall' date=' tho.[/quote']

Yeah.

[Basil]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

For the tsunami, the brick might spend time piling up a huge wall of rocks and sand, with the energy projector using blasts to fuse it all together into a giant protective barrier while the martial artist and others try to keep the peace in a town filled suddenly with doomsayers and anarchists. That kind of thing.

 

I'm not sure, but I think an artificial "reef" a kilometer or two or three off the coast might be more useful; get the wave to expend a lot of its force before hitting the coast.

[Drhoz]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

re: forcing condensation = more heat = more intense.

 

Apparently not - one cloud-seeding exercise a few decades back was designed to make the eye bigger - and the bigger the eye the less intense the winds - but the hurricane they were experimenting on promptly took a right-turn across an inhabited island, and the experiment was never repeated for fear of law-suits.

[casualplayer]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

All these suggestions are why you spend points on the team communicator and keep on the good side of PRIMUS, because it's awfully unlikely that the players bought the right Science Skills. Radio up the big brains and know what to do when. This is also a good way to remind everyone exactly why "Stretcho" is the leader, as he does bust out the obscure SSs and gets a chance to shine.

 

Maybe "Defender" calculates and coordinates the strike zone while "Sapphire" takes a "Talisman" buffed "Obsidian" into the lower atmosphere before flinging him at the target. The cannonball into the faultline/ocean/eye of the storm sets up a counterforce, channeled and enhanced by "Kinetik," that dissipates the natural disaster.

 

I wouldn't let the team completely fizzle the event, because then they get swelled heads as they think they whupped God in a tussle, but let their efforts turn an F5 hurricane into an F2-3 and then chase it with some human stories and clean-up that lets them get to see the faces and learn the names of exactly who they saved.

[Basil]

Re: Stopping Natural Disasters in Champions?

 

All these suggestions are why you spend points on the team communicator and keep on the good side of PRIMUS' date=' because it's awfully unlikely that the players bought the right Science Skills. Radio up the big brains and know what to do when. This is also a good way to remind everyone exactly why "Stretcho" is the leader, as he [b']does[/b] bust out the obscure SSs and gets a chance to shine.

Very true. And even if some character has useful SS's, it's unlikely he's got the reference works and SuperCray computer at hand, to figure out the very bestest action to take.

Maybe "Defender" calculates and coordinates the strike zone while "Sapphire" takes a "Talisman" buffed "Obsidian" into the lower atmosphere before flinging him at the target. The cannonball into the faultline/ocean/eye of the storm sets up a counterforce, channeled and enhanced by "Kinetik," that dissipates the natural disaster.

 

I wouldn't let the team completely fizzle the event, because then they get swelled heads as they think they whupped God in a tussle, but let their efforts turn an F5 hurricane into an F2-3 and then chase it with some human stories and clean-up that lets them get to see the faces and learn the names of exactly who they saved.

Excellent ideas. Indeed, excellent general method.

 

 

 

"God, god, oh god, thousands dead for all we could do." The cry came from the soul, ripping her throat as she cried. "WHY?!"

 

"I do not follow your human religions, but I do know that That Which Is will act how it will. Sometimes, to cause deaths for no deeper reason than the vagaries of the forces of nature." Most, if they only heard the big extraterrestrial and his always flat, calm voice, would think him without any trace of emotion. Those seeing him though, would know his tears (even if they were bright green) came from a caring heart.

 

A long pause, then Vibro took a deep breath before speaking. "We did what we could, what we knew to do. Now, we must help to rescue, repair, clean up,..." He looked over the team, the team that had chosen him leader, trying to instill hope and determination in each one. What can I say, what can I do, to keep us all going, trying, striving, giving...

 

He turned to the man beside him, whose uniform had lost the gilt and braid that had festooned it a 20 short hours before; gold-colored geegaws replaced by grime, smoke, and blood. "Generaal, as you know we are in your country under the auspices of the UN, and we're supposed to follow their direction. But they've been as hard hit as anyone, and their communications are shot. If you want, tell us what your country needs, and we'll cut through the red tape."

 

"Goed. I will communicate with hoofdkwartier--with headquarters, and - - -"

 

"HOTSPOT" screamed Flamma, "Down there, next to the - - -" No need to finish, as a fireball roared into the sky in the docklands.

 

Vibro turned to the man beside him. "Go," the man said, a world of worry and weariness in his voice, "and to hell with protocols."

 

"OK, people, move out; we'll need about everyone or this fire will get out of hand, ..." Vibro cut off before he added "just like the last one." The team didn't need the reminder. "Crack," he continued, turning to the one guy in the team who was always a problem; a loner, angry, who thought he should be the leader, "please stay here and handle communications."

 

"Nope. Freeze's suit's flight is shot to hell, Zap's in the infirmary, leaving me the only one able to carry our best fire-stopper into battle." Crack turned to the power-suited enigma. "I'll get you down there, then come back here for the commo stuff. Be damned careful; no-one there will be to move you around."

 

"No." Vibro was as abrupt as his rival Don't treat it as a challenge, treat it as good thinking. "Crack, stay with Freeze; he'll need to be mobile. Move him, and be ready for anything else we need. Bulb, I'll need you to handle communication. Stay here with the Generaal, OK?" Bulb just nodded.

 

The rest of the team took off, talking over the radio link as they set up the details of how they'd deal with the rapidly-spreading fire.

 

"An' I'm supposedta...?" The voice, half whining, half hopeful, set Bulb's teeth on edge, just like always. Oh gods, the kid. What a time for the "team sidekick" to get antsy! He's as eager as anyone else, but his abilities... As Bulb turned, reluctantly, toward the latest addition to the team, the Generaal spoke up.

 

"Recognizance, ja? Go upwards and watch the situation from above. Keeping in touch with Bulb, here, natuurlijk. Watch out for the helicopters! Some of my pilots are....rattled, and may shoot un-needed."

 

The kid grinned like a pumpkin. "Sounds terrif! OK with you, Bulb?" Getting a nod, he zipped off, a whirlwind left behind.

 

"Thank you, Generaal. I'll call in to Vibro, let him know."

 

And hope it, and all we're doing, does some good. Especially to the team's morale. I wish we'd had time for one of Vibe's pep-talks. Cause we could've used it. He knew, better than most, that however much they might grin at Vibro's gung-ho attitude, it had kept the team together, and going, many times. And was needed now more than ever before.

 

"Rescue, repair, clean up. That's the job now." It wasn't until he finished that Bulb realized he'd spoken out loud, over the open circuit.

 

"That's our Blob, a bundle of joy," came back Esmeralda's voice, gently chiding. Even as Bulb blushed, he was glad to hear the change from the howl of anguish she'd given so shortly before. We'll be alright. A few small victories in what needs to be done now, and everyone will feel better. He did not dare contemplate any other possibility.

 

 

 

 

Sorry, don't know where all that chatter came from...